Today, Duvall--Tomorrow the world!

Dear Diary,
My eyesight is gone and cancer has ravaged my weakened body,
but soon I'll be free to dance again. I know that I'm
needed elsewhere because I hear the Master's voice calling me.
He tells me I won't have any more pain and I can run and play
with my friend Parker again. He says that I have new friends
that are waiting for me. Someday I'll see my Mommy and Daddy
again, but I have a place that's been prepared for me and
it's my time to go. I will say "until we meet again" for I
hate to say good-bye. I'm flying away for real this time!
I'm off to save the day!
All my love---Sparky The Wonder Dog
August 17, 1996 - August 11, 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. We traveled over the mountains and through the woods but it wasn't to Grandma's house! We drove to Ellensburg, Washington where my Mommy and Daddy's kids and grandkids live. We got to play with all their doggies. They have 5 weiner dogs, 2 Chihuahuas and 1 German Shephard (and a partridge in a pear tree!). We played with all the small dogs. With Bud, me and Spencer, that made 10 of us dogs in the house!

I got to open my presents and boy, were they cool! Mommy says I have to share the presents with Bud and Spencer, but you can read "Sparky's House Rules" and you'll know who gets the presents! We got squeaky toys, balls, dental chews, hand puppets, throwy things, and assorted treats. Wow! We hit the jackpot!

Mommy did make us share some of our Chicken jerky with our cousins, but she said we had plenty and wouldn't miss it. Wanna bet?!! Oh well, it's Christmas and a time for sharing.

Bud, Spencer and I all got new coats for Christmas! Yippie! I've wanted a coat like Bud's since last Winter, but Mommy said the store where she bought the one for Bud didn't sell them any more. Well, the other day she and Daddy were in that same store where they bought the first one for Bud and they had more---one for each of us! So our big present was to get all matching faux suede coats and they really keep us warm! We're now officially the "Faux suede coat gang"! We think it sounds good--don't you?

We also got to go to the little Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington nestled on the Eastside of the Cascade Mountains. The had snow on Monday when we went. The most fun, besides riding in the car was to see who could make the most yellow snow! It was a toss up between Bud and me.

If you want to see where we went, you can go to their website at: http://www.Leavenworth.org

We hope you enjoy seeing where we got to go.

Well, I probably won't write again until next year. Mommy says that's not far off since this year is coming to an end. She said something about me going on a diet for my New Year's resolution, but I'm letting her know right now that I'm storing up fat for the Winter!

I got to go to Mt. Rainier National Park for my birthday! Wow, was it great! We got to car camp and Mommy and Daddy said Bud, Spencer and I made it officially a 3 Dog Night! For those of you who are too young, ask your parents.

I turned 9 years old on August 17th. Daddy, Mommy, Isabel and Michael all sany happy birthday to me! Well, Bud and Spencer sang too, but they didn't sound so good.

Mommy took over 200 digital photos of the park. We even got to see a marmot on the side of the road. It was pretty cool. That's the first time I've ever got to camp that near an active volcano before. There were creepy signs in the campground warning that the mountain could blow at any time and that where we were camping could be covered by tons of mud flow! Not a pleasant thought, but we didn't let it hinder our trip.

If you want to see all the cool photos that Mommy took of the park, you can visit this link and see some of them:
http://community.webshots.com/myphotosaction=viewAllP hotos&albumID=446321229

Boy, did I have fun on my birthday last week! Mommy's birthday is August 15th and mine is August 16th, so she never forgets mine! We went to Hurricane Ridge, which is a National Park in Washington State. We got to go camping with 2 of Mommy and Daddy's grandkids, Michael and Isabel at Heart O' the Hills campground right inside the park. We drove around through Tacoma and across the Narrows Bridge and then we took the Hood's
Canal Floating bridge, which is one of the longest in the world. When we got to Port Angeles, we followed the signs for Hurricane Ridge, which is in the Olympic National Park.

We got there on Monday, which was Mommy's birthday. That afternoon we traveled up 12 more miles from the campground to Hurricane Ridge to see the breathtaking view! Since they don't allow dogs on the trails, Mommy and Daddy took turns watching us while the other one hiked with Michael and Izzy. After hiking and Mommy taking lots and lots of pictures, we went back to the campground for dinner. They put us in a doggie pen while they ate. Don't worry. They made sure that we were fed well! We always get great food from Mommy and Daddy.

After dinner, we went back up to Hurricane Ridge. This time we saw lots of deer! We had to stop the car several times so Mommy could take some pictures of them. Bud just had to bark! They didn't seem to be the least bit afraid of him. Mommy tried desperately to keep Bud quit, but you know Bud!! LOL He just has to bark---why??----because he can!

The next morning, we got up and had breakfast and then back up to Hurricane Ridge again. We saw more deer! Mommy took more pictures. They also sang happy birthday to me in the car on the way up to the top of the ridge.

We had to go home the day of my birthday, but they had to stop at Costco---you know my Dad! If he sees a Costco, he just has to stop!! LOL Well, they just happened to find these cool kitty puppets that they bought me for my birthday! I've had a lot of fun playing with them. I really like it when they are moving, so I can bite them. It's funny---they yell ouch a lot when I'm biting them! I thought Mommy said they didn't talk.

After Costco, we took the Hood's Canal bridge again, but this time we took the Ferry home. That was really cool. We didn't get to go up on deck because dogs have to stay in their cars, but we still got to see out the windows of the Ferry boat while we were moving along. Mommy said that they wanted us to protect the car while they went up on deck.

All in all, my birthday was a day to remember. The whole trip was! Mommy is going to put some of the neat photos up on the website soon. I can't wait!

Well, this week wasn't much fun (at least the first half of each weekday) for Spencer, Bud and me. Mommy and Daddy's grandkids came to visit us for a week. That part was fun, but they went away each morning and left us at home. That was the part that wasn't too great for us because we were left at home alone. We didn't get into trouble--much. Well, at least I was good. I can't speak for Spencer and Bud. In fact I was more than happy to let Mommy and Daddy know what they did each day.

They went to a thing called Vacation Bible School (VBS for short). They all got to dress up in costumes each day and pretend to go back in time to 33 AD. They all said they had fun, but I know they would have had a lot more fun if we could have been there with them. They said we would get too hot in the car while they went to VBS so we (Spencer, Bud and I) all had to stay home.

I don't know if it will work, but maybe next year we can sneak into the car
and go with them to VBS! Do you think they'll notice us in the car??

We got to go to Costco for the last 3 days in a row! Boy it was fun! Bud, Spencer and I got to have some of Mommy and Daddy's chicken bakes. They were so tasty! They also brought out a sample of a turkey burger.

They say that we're having a drought in the Northwest, but you wouldn't know it by all the rain we've been having. We've never seen so many slugs in our lives!! Daddy counted over 17 in the cat food bowl the other day! It was so bad, that he had to take pictures of it. It looked like something you'd see on Fear Factor! There was a really funny one taken of Bud and he looked very disgusted at all the slugs. It didn't seem to bother the cats. They went right on eating! Maybe we should see if we can get them on Fear Factor and make some money.

We're looking forward to the Fourth of July picnic at our neighbor's house. We get to play with Scooter and they said another dog was coming, too.
We'll have to post a diary entry after the 4th.

Daddy came home from California yesterday and they brought a new brother for Bud and me! He actually brought him home so that some other family would get him, but Mommy and Daddy fell in love with him so fast that they said they didn't want him to go to another home. So guess what?!! They adopted him into our family!

His name is Spencer--well that's the name Mommy and Daddy gave him. Mommy and Daddy always liked the name Spencer and they thought it fit--so Spencer it is!

He's a white toy Poodle and he looks more like me than Bud, but he's family now so we all call him 'brother'.

He's the same age as Bud, but I was the first to say 'hello' to him! Bud wouldn't have anything to do with him at first, inspite of what he says! Bud has a way of bragging a LOT and he exaggerates all the time! But they started playing after a few minutes and now he's been accepted into our family.

I think Spencer thinks he's died and gone to "Doggie Heaven"! He wasn't sure about dog treats, but this morning he gobbled up plenty of them like they were going out of style! I've never seen a dog so hungry! Bud and I get lots of food, but that never stops us from begging for more. Mommy says I need to go on a diet. I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good.

Do you smell food?! I think breakfast is cooking! Oh, boy, food--my favorite!
Oh boy, playing with toys--my favorite! Oh boy, going for a car ride--my favorite! Oh boy, sitting on Daddy's lap while he plays the guitar--my favorite!

You get the picture. ;-)

I'm going to have to teach Spencer how to fly around and be a super hero, too! I think my work is cut out for me.

Well, Mommy and Daddy informed Bud and I that we would have to be up bright and early tomorrow morning for sunrise Easter service at church. We always get Mommy and Daddy up early to go out to go poddy, so I think they should be the ones to worry more about getting themselves up and out the door on time!

After church, we're all heading over the mountain pass to Ellensburg, Washington to visit family. There are kids and grandkids to play with and they have tons of dogs (mostly wiener dogs) that all bark at the same time, but they're very friendly. We get along great with all of them but the big dog named Reyna. She's pretty fierce and even though I have super doggie powers, I wouldn't want to tangle with her!

They said something about hiding Easter eggs and then having the grandkids go look for them. Maybe Bud and I can help! With my X-Ray vision I'll be able to spot all the eggs, thus saving the kids from accidentally stepping or sitting on a rotten egg months later!

I know, I know, technically Spring isn't official yet, but around here where we live, everything is in bloom! I heard there are still parts of the U.S. that are still covered with snow. Brrrrrrr! I'm ready for bar-b-ques! Oh, to taste that meat grilling on the bar-b-que!! Meat, meat and more meat. Forget the vegetables! I just want meat!

Of course Bud doesn't want it to get too warm yet. Mommy bought him a new coat the other day and he keeps rubbing it in my face that I didn't get one! It wasn't even his birthday! I don't know why Mommy bought it for him, but I'm not jealous--much----ok, I'm really upset that Mommy bought him something and didn't get me anything, but she said she would make it up to me. I'll keep bugging her until she does. Maybe I'll just have to take Bud's new coat and hide it until Mommy buys me something new. Yeah, that'll work! Woof, woof!

It's COLD outside today! Bud and I just about froze our paws off going outside to do our business! Well, Bud actually had an accident on the rug after he came back inside. I guess you know how he got that nickname "Poop Doggie Poop"! I made sure I let Mommy and Daddy know that Bud couldn't wait to get back inside to leave a present on the rug! I think Bud knew he was in trouble before Mommy saw it. That's why he kept shaking while he was sitting on the clean clothes on the couch! I don't think Mommy was real happy about Bud sitting on the clean clothes that needed to be folded. That'll teach her not to fold them right after they get out of the dryer!

I think I better put on some extra layers of clothes today or maybe I'll just get close to the woodstove in the living room. That's always good for keeping us all warm. Of course at night Bud and I snuggle under the covers. Bud has a nervous habit of going in and out of the covers. I think he thinks it's a game, but not me! Once I get settled down (usually right between Mommy and Daddy) I usually stay put!